ACSO Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
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The Freedom of Information Act Rights
The Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)(PDF, 343KB), located § 2.2-3700 et seq. of the Code of Virginia, guarantees citizens of the Commonwealth and representatives of the media access to public records held by public bodies, public officials, and public employees.
A public record is any writing or recording -- regardless of whether it is a paper record, an electronic file, an audio or video recording, or any other format -- that is prepared or owned by, or in the possession of a public body or its officers, employees or agents in the transaction of public business. All public records are presumed to be open, and may only be withheld if a specific, statutory exemption applies.
The policy of FOIA states that the purpose of FOIA is to promote an increased awareness by all persons of governmental activities. In furthering this policy, FOIA requires that the law be interpreted liberally, in favor of access, and that any exemption allowing public records to be withheld must be interpreted narrowly.
Costs
Effective November 1, 2018, standard FOIA rates shall apply for all labor and materials. Rates include an hourly rate of $25.00/hr. which will be charged for the administration of record retrieval. Upon request, the Sheriff’s Office will provide an estimate for fulfilling the FOIA request.
- If the Sheriff’s Office estimates that its costs are $200 or greater an estimate will be provided, and a 50% deposit will be required to be paid by the requestor prior to the records being retrieved and disclosed.
- A Final Invoice for either the remainder (if deposit was paid) or total amount due will be provided to the request at the same time as the Sheriff’s Office response.
The Sheriff’s Office’s charges for FOIA are consistent with the following guidelines:
- A public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for the requested records and shall make all reasonable efforts to supply the requested records at the lowest possible cost.
- No public body shall impose any extraneous, intermediary, or surplus fees or expenses to recoup the general costs associated with creating or maintaining records or transacting the general business of the public body. Any duplicating fee charged by a public body shall not exceed the actual cost of duplication.
- Prior to conducting a search for records, the public body shall notify the requester in writing that the public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for requested records and inquire of the requester whether he would like to request a cost estimate in advance of the supplying of the requested records set forth in subsection F of § 2.2-3704 of the Code of Virginia.
- All charges for the supplying of requested records shall be estimated in advance at the request of the citizen as set forth in subsection F of § 2.2-3704 of the Code of Virginia. The five days allowed the County for a response does not include the time between provision of a requested estimate and approval of the estimate by the requester.
- If the estimated cost is more than $200, a deposit may be required (not to exceed the amount of the estimate), before the County proceeds with your request. The five days allowed the County for a response does not include the time between a request for a deposit and a response from the requester.
- Cost covers items such as staff time, copying or any other resources directly related to supplying the requested records. It does not include general overhead.
- If money is owed from a previous FOIA request that has remained unpaid for more than 30 days, Arlington County may require payment of the past-due bill before responding to a new FOIA request.
Your FOIA Rights
• You have the right to request to inspect or receive copies of public records, or both.
• You have the right to request that any charges for the requested records be estimated in advance.
• If you believe that your FOIA rights have been violated, you may file a petition in district or circuit court to compel compliance with FOIA. Alternatively, you may contact the FOIA Council for a nonbinding advisory opinion. Memorandum Page 2 of 5 Making a Request for records from Arlington County Sheriff’s Office.
• You may request records by U.S. Mail, fax, e-mail, in person, or over the phone. FOIA does not require that your request be in writing, nor do you need to specifically state that you are requesting records under FOIA. From a practical perspective, it may be helpful to both you and the person receiving your request to put your request in writing. This allows you to create a record of your request. It also gives us a clear statement of what records you are requesting, so that there is no misunderstanding over a verbal request. However, we cannot refuse to respond to your FOIA request if you elect to not put it in writing.
• Your request must identify the records you are seeking with "reasonable specificity." This is a common-sense standard. It does not refer to or limit the volume or number of records that you are requesting; instead, it requires that you be specific enough so that we can identify and locate the records that you are seeking.
• Your request must ask for existing records or documents. FOIA gives you a right to inspect or copy records; it does not apply to a situation where you are asking general questions about the work of the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office. Nor does it require the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office to create a record that does not exist.
• You may choose to receive electronic records in any format used by the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office in the regular course of business. For example, if you are requesting records maintained in an Excel database, you may elect to receive those records electronically, via e-mail or on a computer disk, or to receive a printed copy of those records
• If we have questions about your request, please cooperate with staff's efforts to clarify the type of records that you are seeking, or to attempt to reach a reasonable agreement about a response to a large request. Making a FOIA request is not an adversarial process, but we may need to discuss your request with you to ensure that we understand what records you are seeking.
A public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for the requested records and shall make all reasonable efforts to supply the requested records at the lowest possible cost. No public body shall impose any extraneous, intermediary, or surplus fees or expenses to recoup the general costs associated with creating or maintaining records or transacting the general business of the public body. Any duplicating fee charged by a public body shall not exceed the actual cost of duplication. Prior to conducting a search for records, the public body shall notify the requester in writing that the public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for requested records and inquire of the requester whether he would like to request a cost estimate in advance of the supplying of the requested records as set forth in subsection F of §2.2-3704of the Code of Virginia.
To request records from the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office, you may direct your request to:
Captain Sean Elston
Arlington County Sheriff’s Office
1425 North Courthouse Road
Suite 9100 Arlington, VA 22201
703-228-4468
acsofoia@arlingtonva.us